Study of hygrothermal ageing of glass fibre reinforced PET composites

Hygrothermal ageing has been investigated on glass fibre reinforced polyethylene terephthalate (PET) composites using complementary techniques and a multiscale approach in order to identify the different steps of the material's degradation. For early ageing times (t < 6 h), DMTA tests give evidence of the plasticisation of the PET matrix. GPC measurements and acid end group titration show that the chemical degradation step of the composites occurs immediately and that the main degradation mechanism is random chain scission. The changes in morphology resulting from hydrolysis, investigated through DSC and SAXS experiments, reveal a decrease in the long period that may result from the diffusion of oligomers out of the spherulites. The water uptake for long ageing times is attributed to an interfacial debonding which induces an osmotic pressure in this area. Photomechanical measurements highlight the development of rnicrocracks within the aged material that induced an increase in the variation of material volume. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.